Hello all,

I do not think I have posted anything on here for more than a week now; it has been a really hectic week, but actually, lots of activity helps keep the depression and boredom in check, and the story is pretty crazy. After I posted last time on Saturday, July 20th, I was trying to get motivated to work on the paper for my Anthropology class, so I was working on that at the community college on Monday, the 22nd, when the staff at my mom's assisted living home called and said my mom had disappeared. My mom is 82 years old, and for the 16 months my mom had lived there, she had always been trying to go out and wander around, and the staff had always been vigilant about catching and bringing her back home; this time, my mom really did it - she went missing for more than 36 hours! We posted flyers all over the place; about 20 to 30 of the Terraces staff were involved in the search and during the second day, we had more than a hundred Sheriffs and Search & Rescue crew including two trained search dogs and the Sheriff's helicopters involved. Finally, about 8 pm on the second day, things were looking pretty questionable and hopeless when the city police department called and said a lady matching my mom's description hurt her arm trying to get into a house thru a broken window, in a strange neighborhood about two miles south of her assisted living home. I called my sister and told her and then, rushed over to the hospital where the ambulance had taken my mom. Yes, it was her in the Emergency Room, and the doctor stitched up a four inch gash on the outside of her forearm; she is very fortunate that the cut was not on the inside where she might have cut an artery. The hospital moved her to a bed upstairs, and for the past week, she has had a "sitter" in her room to make sure she does not get into any trouble. The last few days, since Wednesday morning, my mom was diagnosed with Full Dementia, and my sister and I have been working on finding a new place for her to live - someplace designed for residents with some form of dementia - where she cannot leave so easily. We are going to move what little furniture and other stuff she will need there to the new place tomorrow, and when her new apartment is ready, we will have her brought from the hospital to her new home. Like I said, it has been quite a week! I also missed my appt with my therapist at the VA Medical Center (I had been waiting about 2 months for that appt) last Tuesday because that was about the time my mom had been missing almost 24 hours of the 36 hours total, and I tried to call to reschedule, but everything was happening at once and my cellphone signal was not consistent enough.

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It will be good to get back to my routine; thank you all for listening,

Pines of Rome
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Ups & Downs
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Up -) Even with a bad scare and a minor injury, my mom is okay.

Up -) Change can be good; hopefully, my mom will like this new place better.

Up -) Without really knowing why, I feel mildly optimistic and in good spirits.

Down -( Still concerned/worried about finishing my paper and Final Exam for my Anthro class.

Down -( Missed my appt with VA Therapist; hopefully no major consequences for that.